Morticians Leave Behind 8 Bodies Unrefrigerated

The owners of a funeral home, where eight bodies were found unattended Tuesday, say a misunderstanding led police to search the business.

The owner of the building where Johnson Family Mortuary operates said he told the owners to vacate about two weeks ago. The landlord went to the building, which has no refrigerated storage, Tuesday and found eight bodies inside but no employees.

The landlord called police, who obtained a search warrant and located the bodies, “aged from infant to adult, were found in the building in varying stages of decomposition, some quite advanced,” according to Fort Worth Police spokesman Raymond Bush.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office then removed eight bodies. That office is now working to identify them.

The mortuary is run by twin brothers Dondre and Derrick Johnson.

On Tuesday, Dondre Johnson insisted remains were treated properly.

“I’ve been in business 25 years and I’ll continue to serve the community,” he said.

Police said the bodies were not refrigerated, but the building did have working utilities. The phone of the business was disconnected.

Johnson also said he had been paying rent, but that the landlord had a misunderstanding.